Why Wait For The AirPod? These Three Truly Wireless Earbuds Work Great And Are Available Now

With Apple's AirPods delayed until who knows when, iPhone 7 owners looking for truly wireless earbuds have few options. The earliest releases (2015) from the likes of companies big (Samsung) and small (Earin) suffered from broken connections and inelegant designs. Bragi's Dash is probably the most famous one (I haven't tried those) but they're pricey due to its ambitiousness (it wants to be a fitness tracker too).

What if you want just clean looking wireless earbuds, and nothing more? Crazybaby's very cool looking Air isn't ready for release yet. But three start-ups from China and Taiwan have respectively released its own take. I got the chance to test all three recently, and they're all pretty good.

Let's start with the Erato Apollo 7, the best overall of the bunch and probably the best true wireless earbuds overall on the market right now (though still far from perfect). Several other reviews, including CNET and the Verge, have concluded that these earbuds have the strongest and most reliable connection in the industry, and my own testing came up with the same result. It took a few tries to connect both earbuds together (you start by turning on one to connect it to your phone/computer as the "master device," then you turn on the other to connect the two buds), but once it connected, I never came across problems again. The earbuds just worked every time: I take them out of its premium-feeling/looking metal charging case, turn on my phone's bluetooth and within a second the earbuds are paired.

Sound quality, obviously, falls short of any good set of wired headphones/earbuds, but it's great for wireless earbuds, and more than enough to probably 90% of the population. There's a lot of clarity during podcast sessions and the bass is strong -- very noticeable when listening to Nas' Illmatic -- on this, more so than on any other wireless earbuds I've tried. That's due to the Apollo 7's 5.8mm micro-sized dynamic driver, whereas most other wireless buds (including Bragi's and Earin's) use the weaker armature drivers. The mids are also very clear, but the highs come out quite muffled.

The included charging dock is made of metal and slides out (and clicks shut) in a satisfying way. Photo: Ben Sin

Speaking of muffled, though the Apollo 7 includes a mic for making phone calls, but unfortunately, the caller on the other end said she couldn't hear me clearly over several test calls using different smartphones. But I must conceded -- I have a deep and "mumbly" voice to begin with. Perhaps a better speaker wouldn't encounter these problems. I also did hear the caller clearly though.

Taking calls and pausing music are all done withe Apollo 7's multi-functional buttons. There's one on each bud, which seems overkill, but it's there because the Apollo 7 can work as just a single earbud if you so choose.

At 4 grams each, the Apollo 7 are considered light, but the bullet-shaped earpieces are quite big and the other end sticks out enough that I was worried about them falling out. The Taiwanese start-up does, however, offer additional earpieces, including one with a sport wing, that should hold them in place more securely.

Oh, and if they do fall out and, say, fall onto dirt. It's okay -- these earbuds are fully water resistant so you can rinse them off and it'll work fine. You can't wear them to swim -- but it's good to know sweat and rain and faucet water won't damage them.

The charging dock that comes with the earbuds, as mentioned earlier, is very well-built and feels very high-end, like something you store jewelry in. It offers two additional charges to the earbuds. The Apollo 7 lasted an average of three hours per charge, so you're looking at nine hours of use before you have to top up. The earbuds come in different colors (black, gold, pink, silver) and the charging dock matches the look. As always, I like black the best.

At $300 though, the Erato Apollo 7 is actually pricier than the AirPod, but these are truly wireless earbuds that offer arguably the best sound and connectivity on the market right now -- and it's not ugly like the AirPods.

For those who don't want to spend $300 for Erato's buds, the Jabees BTWins, at $99, is a good option, with one compromise, which I'll get to later. Just looking at the earbuds alone, these are every bit as premium-feeling as the Apollo 7, with the end opposite of the buds slimmer and smaller to boot. These are the most "hidden" of all the wireless buds right now, meaning it's got the smallest piece sticking out (don't even get me started on Apple's ugly AirPods...)

Once you get to the charging dock, however, that's when you see some of the cost-cutting. The charging box -- this one opens up like a treasure box -- is made of plastic. It's noticeably flimsier and less premium than the charging dock on the Apollo 7. But, I mean, who really cares about what the charging dock looks/feels like? This is something you'll get over in 12 seconds and never think again.

The charging box. Photo: Ben Sin

Sound quality on the BTWins is good, with even stronger bass than the Apollo 7 (not quite Beats-level of overkill). Acoustics in particular sounded brilliant on these. It's also a bit easier to pair than the Apollo 7.

But, and this is a big but, the BTWins suffers from connectivity issues. On a few occasions during my testing, the right earbud would cut out for half a second. It's not too bad -- we're talking a combined 2 seconds of problems over an hour of listening, I'd say -- but it's enough to be jarring and take you out of the moment. But like I mentioned above -- the Apollo 7 is the only completely wire free earbuds to achieve perfect connectivity. The BTWins' problem is minor compared to the ones I've had on Samsung's GearIcon X.

The BTWins is better at making calls than the Apollo 7 -- the person on the other end said she could hear me more clearly. Battery life is about on par with the Apollo 7 at about 3 hours playtime per charge.

Jabees ships each pair with several other replacement tips, including one with a wrap-around ear-grip, in different sizes. So the fit on these should be great for anyone. These are also water-resistant, so at about 1/3 the price, you're getting most of the same features of the Apollo 7, you just have to put up with disconnections every now and then. I think these are a great value, personally.

Finally, we have the Axgio Dash

The Axgio Dash. Photo: Axgio

As you can see, the Dash takes a different approach in that it has wraps around the ear. That, plus its all plastic build, mean these don't look as "sexy" as the BTWins or Apollo 7, but they are more secure. If you need wireless buds to run or do other types of activities where you jump around a lot, these are probably going to be a better fit than the first two since you won't have to stress about losing them. At $60, these are the cheapest of the bunch, and while audio quality is not up to par with the other two, it's more than enough for the average listener. Highs and mids sound great on these, it's when it hit the lows where it comes off a bit flat.

The battery life on these are also a bit than the Apollo 7 and BTWins -- I got like five hours of music/podcast time before I needed a charge.

The Dash is clearly bigger than the other two, but it's a more secure fit. (And those calluses are from weightlifting, I don't have a disease...) Photo: Ben Sin

The Dash do not come with a charging dock, instead there's a USB-port in each earpiece. Axgio includes a USB cable that splits into two ends so you can charge both at once. Because this is a bulkier earpiece compared to the first two, there's also more room for buttons. Axgio placed three on each bud, and that means you can do a bit more with these. For example double tap on the middle button and it'll call the last number dialed (if you're connected to a phone).

Otherwise, packaging for this is pretty minimal. You do get a pouch to the store the earbuds in. Of the three, these are my workout earbuds of choice.